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What’s new for SEO? AuthorRank and Google+, that’s what!

Having
good search engine optimization (SEO) and showing up first in search
results is something every business strives for. Unfortunately there can
only be one “top dog”, but how do Google and other search engines
determine who that dog is? Currently there is a rating system called
PageRank that assesses which pages have authority in terms of links to
them, links from them and visits/clicks. Keywords on these pages also
play a role. However, we are seeing a new phase of SEO where social
media is playing a bigger role than ever before. Search Engine Journal
recently reported that a new rating system closely linked with social
media activity called AuthorRank will soon be making a debut.

As AuthorRank focuses more on social engagement, website SEO will be measured by the:

Amount of social signals like tweets, likes, shares and +1’s and the influence of people creating these signals.

Number of comments on social sites and the influence of those leaving the comments.

Relevancy and quality of inbound links that point to the website’s content.

In
essence, SEO is becoming more about your content and what people think
of it than just words on a page and traffic. So the more an author
writes, the more engagement received, the higher the AuthorRank score
will be. When it’s high-quality content, that is even better.

One
thing that is very important about AuthorRank is that Google wants to
know who the author is and that they are a real person. You know that
Google+ Profile you have been avoiding creating? Now might be the time
to reconsider. To be recognized for the content you publish online (and
thus increasing your AuthorRank position), you will need to have it link
to your Google+ Profile. This means having a profile and being granted Google Authorship. More information about Google Authorship can be found here in an interview with Sagar Kamdar.Seems
that 2013 might be the year that Google+ takes off big time. It might
be wise to start posting your blog content to your Google+ Profile to
reap the SEO benefits of AuthorRank.